The former US VP Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was regarded as arguably the most significant holders of the vice-presidency in the nation's history. Although many vice-presidents had to settle for peripheral or ceremonial roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to the point that he was commonly described as the "true president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and said the dynamic was more nuanced. He pointed out that Cheney was courteous, consistently addressing him in public settings as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush disputed even characterisations of their partnership as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of these objections, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a broad range of policy decisions.
A Post-9/11 Era
In charge of a group of neo-cons that encompassed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in response to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 assault, Bush had been attending a meeting at a school in Florida. While Bush headed for a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took command, directing the shooting down of any unidentified aircraft approaching the Capitol building.
Cheney claimed the attacks transformed him, causing him to be focused on revenge. Together with other conservative figures, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to apprehend Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was little proof of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Debated Actions
He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an estimated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the enhanced interrogation of individuals captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on misleading reports circulated by Cheney, was the proper decision. "It proved to be the correct action to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I hold that view presently."
But even at the time, there were opposing views at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the government's own representatives to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "clear negligence, inaction, and recklessness: at worst, falsehoods, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Broader Context
Cheney was not entirely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a document outlining situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to essential resources, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to take unilateral action when collective action cannot be orchestrated," particularly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush also had arrived in the presidency vaguely intent on executing what his parent had famously refused to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been fired by the president, the Treasury head Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of reducing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He additionally disliked that one of the most prominent establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a image of his parent's face that everyone had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
However it was Cheney who was part of the most vociferous advocating striking Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely misleading. He backed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the use of waterboarding and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had been obtained through the interrogation methods, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to take steps and put in place initiatives to apprehend the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and guarantee it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they deserve a lot of credit."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed labels assigned to him by detractors such as the Star Wars villain and the dark figure, and by the concept that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the evil genius in the corner that operates invisibly emerge from his lair? This represents a advantageous way to function, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Controversy over his business interests followed him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in corporate affairs but strong connections in military, notably in Saudi Arabia, he was asked to become part of Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum corporations, in 1995 as chair and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was given US deals totaling billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the company grew from his $258,394 while military head to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a package worth more than $20m|twenty
